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The Power of Belief.

Does our belief about something have the ability to change the results?

Apparently it does.

In a study called "Mind Over Milkshakes, researchers gave subjects either an "indulgent," high-calorie milkshake or a "sensible healthy," low-calorie shake. Before the subjects were allowed to drink the shakes, they had to read a detailed description of each. The researchers then measured how each milkshake affected the subjects' ghrelin response. Ghrelin is a stomach hormone that controls satiety--how full you feel. It goes down after you eat a big meal.

As you would expect, the subjects' ghrelin levels dropped after the indulgent, high-calorie shake. After all, this thing contained more than 600 calories. It would fill up anyone. When the subjects drank the low-cal shake, their ghrelin levels stayed basically the same.Now the Reality: The shakes were identical; they were all moderate-calorie. The descriptions were a complete lie. So it couldn't have been any combination of fat, protein, carbohydrates, or calories that caused a big drop in ghrelin levels. It was a bunch of words written on paper that slashed the stomach hormone.

Or, perhaps, the subjects' belief about what the shakes contained--a belief that they got from the printed descriptions. Hence the study title, "Mind Over Milkshakes." It was the brain the controlled the ghrelin levels, not the contents of the milkshake.

Now what? What does this mean to me today?

It all comes down to belief. If you believe something --- even if it is a lie, the reality is that your body will respond to the belief regardless if it is true or not.

Be careful what you believe. That is another reason for us to live in community with meaningful relationships to tell us the truth...because it only the truth that will set you free.